Falling in Love at the Jersey Shore
by erskine exposed
Summary: Unabashedly AU. "It's just that something about this summer already feels different. Like everything is going to change, and it's kind of scary." Summer at the Jersey Shore has never been weirder for Izzy, but that is just the beginning.


Izzy was glad she'd convinced Jo to drive with the windows down. It wasn't a long drive from Manhattan to home in Seaside Heights, but Izzy itched at confinement for long periods of time. The weather was unseasonably warm, inching towards the 80s the closer the clock ticked to noon. Jo had tuned into some Top 40 station and was humming along as she drove. The contents of their past year filled the back of the van.

The choice had been simple. Francesca Benetti, matriarch of the Benetti clan, had said they could chauffeur their three younger sisters home, or haul all the cargo in the family's ancient minivan. Much as Izzy loved the youngest Benettis—Maria, Caterina, and Lucia—she was not sure she could take all of them confined to a metal box for the trip home. She was happy, though, to spend the hour and a half with Giovanna, the oldest daughter and recent graduate.

The entire family had spent the weekend in New York to celebrate Jo's achievement, though Cat and Lucia had managed to finagle a shopping spree out of the visit, too. Izzy loved her loud, Italian family, but she figured the ride home would allow her to collect her wits and strengthen her resolve in the face of an entire summer in their company. Between her mother's neurotics, Caterina and Lucia's gossip, and Maria's philosophizing, Izzy wasn't sure when she would next enjoy a moment of quiet. Thankfully, Lorenzo Benetti, nominal head of the household, maintained a sanctuary of reason in the form of a home office where his second eldest could escape now and again.

"So, how's it feel to be all graduated and headed to your last summer at the Shore? Gonna fit in as many guidos as possible?"

Giovanna threw her sister a look. It didn't quite hit the peeved expression she was aiming for, Izzy noted with satisfaction. Jo was too sweet to really pull off irritation. Jo was too everything, though. Too pretty, too kind, too soft spoken—too smart for a face like hers, their mother would say. If it could be agreed that the Benetti sisters had all benefited from the figurative genetic lottery, then it was a given that Giovanna Benetti had won the jackpot.

In essentials, all the Benetti sisters looked similar: olive skin, dark eyes and hair. Giovanna, as first born, had fittingly set an impossible standard. Tall and delicate, her olive complexion was complemented by an abundance of dark hair and hazel eyes. Sometimes Izzy was disgusted with her sister's good looks. Jo was like a walking, talking magazine cover.

"Isabella, just because I've got my degree doesn't mean that I can't come home to see my family, even during the summer."

"Yeah, but you start coming home every summer and soon you're 30, hitting on guys at some club on the Boardwalk," Izzy teased.

Jo rolled her eyes good-naturedly. "Not everyone who has set foot in Seaside Heights is destined to become Snooki, Iz."

"Don't even joke about becoming Snooki, Jo. Not with our sisters."

"Oh, they're not that bad! Cat and Lucia are just young, they'll grow out of it."

"Yeah, I'm just worried it won't happen before they've made out with the entire cast of Jersey Shore," Izzy muttered in reply.

Jo's mouth quirked up in a grin, but she went back to humming along to the radio. A few minutes passed in reflective quiet, wind from the open windows whipping Izzy's hair around her face.

"Oh!" Jo exclaimed. "What was mom talking about yesterday about having new neighbors? What happened to the Ferrells?"

"Well, they decided they wanted to try out Colorado for a while, so they've rented out their house. I guess it's some guy named Chester Bingley, his entire family, and his seven friends from New York. Lucia claims he's planning on opening up a new club. I think mom said it was going to be called Nether. God knows where she gets her information, though."

Jo nodded, "Well it'll be nice to have new faces in the neighborhood."

"Mom's already planned your future life as Mrs. Bingley. I think she's hoping for a June wedding." Izzy paused to consider, "Though, I do hope she means next June."

"Oh, Izzy, stop it. Mom's not that bad."

"No, I actually heard her asking Maria how long she thought it would be before the guy proposed to you. You're officially out of school, Jo, she can start trying to marry you off without being shamed by society, now."

Jo just laughed and Izzy joined her a moment later. "It is weird, though," she began, picking up on the original conversation. "Maria will be in the city next fall, and you'll be a junior. It'll only be Cat and Lucia at home with Mom and Dad. You're growing up so fast!"

"Geez, _Mom_," Izzy drawled, "no need to get so worked up. We've still got this summer. We can build up dad's patience—he'll need it with what he's facing come fall."

Her older sister smiled, eyes still on the road. "I know. It's just that something about this summer already feels different. Like everything is going to change, and it's kind of scary."

"Graduating must have made you extra touchy-feely today! I know what'll help: Ke$ha!"

Izzy cranked up the radio and belted out the catchy tune. Jo shook her head at her sister's antics but sang along, too. They kept this up for the rest of the ride: barreling headlong towards home, summer, and more changes than they could know.


End file.
